Mode of delivery preferences in a diverse population of pregnant women.

Objective: The objective of the study was to assess women's preferences for vaginal vs cesarean delivery in 4 contexts: prior cesarean delivery, twins, breech presentation, and absent indication for cesarean.

Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study of pregnant women at 24-40 weeks' gestation. After assessing stated preferences for vaginal or cesarean delivery, we used the standard gamble metric to measure the strength of these preferences and the time tradeoff metric to determine how women value the potential processes and outcomes associated with these 2 delivery approaches.

Effect of hypercarbia and isoflurane on brain cell death and neurocognitive dysfunction in 7-day-old rats.

Background: Millions of neonates undergo anesthesia each year. Certain anesthetic agents cause brain cell death and long-term neurocognitive dysfunction in postnatal day (P)7 rats. Despite its intuitive appeal, a causal link between cell death and neurocognitive decline after anesthesia has not been established.